


coax the cold right out of me

by galacticdrift (Ancalime)



Series: kiss me on the mouth and set me free [1]
Category: Tanis (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, canon-typical creepiness, discussion of mental issues & suicide, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 12:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6469474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ancalime/pseuds/galacticdrift
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post S1, Nic continues to investigate potentially Tanis-related mysteries, and invites Geoff Van Sant along on a day trip. Cue deep discussions, gross hand-holding, a little making out, and some inevitable Tanis-y weirdness. Title from Troye Sivan's "Bite."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Nice weather to go down a 2 mile tunnel in the dark." Geoff shaded his eyes from the light, looking around at the trees and campground.

"You know me, I'm from Vancouver. I'm allergic to sunlight." Nic grinned at Geoff's scoff and expression of mock disdain.

"It just opened for the spring about 10 days ago. Not many folks are going to stop on Snoqualmie Pass for a brisk 2 mile walk in the dark on a Monday night."

"So what's the deal? You're thinking it must be related to Tanis somehow."

"People have reported...strange things, going through this tunnel." Nic paused. "Hearing things. Feeling a sense of-- of dislocation when they emerge from the other side."

Geoff looked at him askance and Nic let out a small laugh. "No, I know."

"You've already been to Tanis once and it doesn't seem like you're raring to go back. Or, am I wrong...?" He gestured at the entrance.

"No! I'm not trying to get back to Tanis. Not like this, that's for sure. This is," Nic looked at the gravel road, the picnic tables in the open field, the power lines next to the entrance, following the same path as the tunnel but _up_ the mountain instead of _through_. "I don't think Tanis is...here. This isn't really anything like how someone would get to Tanis. But it could be, I don't know, a few streets down?"

"Okay." Geoff stepped up, knocking their shoulders together, that familiar easy smile on his face. "You ready, buddy?"

Nic nodded. "Let's go."

It didn't take long before the gloom of the narrow tunnel set in and Nic flicked on his flashlight. The beam bobbed ahead of them, revealing nothing but dull cement walls and the packed gravel ground they walked on.

"So why'd you ask for company on this particular trip?"

Nic sighed. "Remember that part where I said it could be a few streets down from Tanis, and how I'm not trying to go back to Tanis?"

Geoff laughed.

"It's easier to get-- tangled up in something, when you're on your own. People who get close to it, all alone, it's worse for them." Nic hesitated, his voice soft when he continued. "I don't want to end up like Kurt Cobain, or Elliott Smith, or any of the rest of them."

"Yeah." There was a long beat of silence before Geoff responded, just as quiet, and slung a long arm around his shoulders. Nic glanced over and caught a glimpse of his face looking uncharacteristically sober. "I get it, man. Any time you need it, I'm right here."

His shoulders hunched as the realization hit. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

"About your brother."

"What?" Geoff let go and stopped, turning to look at him. "Oh, man, no, don't worry about it. Look -- if it hadn't been that, it would have been something else. It's not like he suddenly became who he is. Was. He didn't take a camping trip and come back a obsessive hoarder with a fixation on numbers stations. He was off as far back as I could remember."

"You don't think something could have happened when he was a kid? You weren't around for at least eleven years."

"Nah." Nic saw him hesitate, letting out a long breath. "Eleven years is-- a long time between kids, right? My folks never said anything about me being an accident, or about trying for kids between us. But once I got out of high school, some of the stuff my mom said about family taking care of each other...I think they knew."

He let out a short dry laugh. "Could've just gotten him therapy and some meds, instead they decided to handle things the old-fashioned way."

"Still," Nic said, scuffing his feet on the gravel. "It _feels_ connected. You wouldn't be here in this creepy tunnel under a mountain if he hadn't died, if I hadn't been investigating Tanis."

"Maybe not. Maybe so." A ghost of a smile crossed Geoff's face. "Thanks, though. I appreciate the sentiment anyway."

He reached out and shoved at Nic, sending him staggering half a step forward down the tunnel again, his hand lingering on Nic's back for a few strides before dropping.

As they continued further inward, the crunch of gravel under their shoes turned to a muddy squelch, occasional drops of water splashing and sending echoes up and down the tunnel.

"Is it just me, or is the light getting dimmer?" Nic's voice was hushed, but it was still enough to mingle with the dripping water, turning strange and distorted.

"I, uh. Dunno." Geoff slowed down, moving the beam of his flashlight around to the walls and ceiling. This far into the tunnel, there was next to no ambient light to provide even the slightest assistance, but even so, it didn't seem to reach as far as if had before, like the light struggled to pierce a darkness that had weight and mass.

Nic dug his phone out of his pocket and turned it on, activating the camera flash.

"That's-- you turned it on, but it doesn't...look any brighter." Geoff sounded dubious. Nic deactivated the phone's light and shoved it back in his pocket.

"Okay. It's getting darker. Let's just-- stay close."

"Yeah. Good idea." Nic felt Geoff reach out and take his hand. He jumped and glanced over at him, uncertain in an entirely new and different way, but let his fingers curl around Geoff's anyway.

The light continued to dim, until they were moving forward through shadows, guided by the faintest idea of where the ground was -- and that mainly because it was a straight, flat tunnel. There was only one way to go.

Right?

Geoff squeezed Nic's hand. "We've been walking for a while now. We should be starting to see the other end."

"Not necessarily. It must be nearly dark out by now."

"You doing okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll be glad to get out the other end, that's all." Nic's voice was a little unsteady.

"Definitely. C'mon, bud." Geoff pushed ahead by half a step, taking the lead and pulling Nic along with him.

Nic heard a crunch, something giving way under his shoe, and at the same time a drop of cold water fell on the back of his neck and slid down beneath his collar. He didn't even realize he'd stopped until Geoff's movement pulled him forward another step or two before he too came to a halt.

"Hey, what's up?"

That thick, sweet, rotting smell flooded over him and he wondered how he could ever have forgotten it. "That smell--"

"What?" Geoff grabbed him by the arms. "Dude, it smells like any old cave. You gotta snap out of it, c'mon."

Nic looked around, took half a step-- forward? He couldn't even tell anymore, and shells crunched under his feet, and he was suddenly _frantic_ because this was all wrong, this wasn't the right way to Tanis but suddenly it felt like Tanis was _here_ , seeping up through the world all around them. His breath quickened. "We-- this is _wrong_ , this is _bad_. We have to get out of here. We have to get out right now."

"Hey. Hey. It's okay, we're gonna get out. It can't be that much farther." Geoff caught his face with one hand, fingers steady against his jaw and neck. "Nic, c'mon, I promise. Just stick with me."

When Geoff said his name, Nic could hear the meaning in it. It was enough to focus on: his name and the touch of skin on skin, his hand in Geoff's as they slogged through the dark.

The darkness of the tunnel clung to them right up until the end; Nic could have sworn it was just a few steps from when they first caught sight of the exit to when they staggered out under the sunset-streaked bowl of the sky. Still holding tight to Nic's hand, Geoff pulled them away from the tunnel to a park info board.

Nic slumped against the board, resting his weight against it, and Geoff finally let go of his hand, bracing himself with one arm against the sturdy info board.

"Shit." Geoff looked over at Nic, who managed a shaky smile.

"Sorry about that."

"Are you okay?" Looking at his serious expression, Nic felt guilt wash over him, and reached over to grab Geoff's arm. Geoff brought a hand up to his neck again, this time gentle, his thumb just brushing over the skin above Nic's collar.

"Thank you. I got-- I don't know." He let out a dry laugh. "I don't know anything anymore. Even less than I did before. I thought it would be fine. I didn't think-- you really didn't...smell anything? Or feel like there was anything, I dunno, out of the ordinary?"

Geoff shook his head. "Nothing really. That it got so dark was...weird, but the tunnel smelled like normal tunnel stuff to me -- dirt, mold, maybe a couple small animals that crawled into a hole somewhere and died."

Nic shook his head. "I took a step and heard -- _thought_ I heard -- myself step on a snail. And there was water dripping down my neck, and it was like-- like being back in Tanis, or like Tanis was soaking through into the real world, or..."

He trailed off with a helpless shrug, staring at the tunnel exit.

"Nic, look at me. You're right here. Everything is fine." Geoff's voice was firm as he spoke, leaning in to make his point. His hand was warm against Nic's neck. "We didn't go to Tanis. We didn't go _anywhere_ but down a long tunnel."

Nic gripped harder at Geoff's arm, pulling his gaze away from the tunnel to look at him. He managed about half a smile. "I'm-- yeah. I know. Thanks for dragging me through it. That definitely would...not have gone well if I'd been in there on my own, I think."

"You're welcome." Geoff smiled back, looking relieved, then ducked his head and pressed his lips against Nic's just for a moment before pulling away a little.

Nic stared, feeling himself flush.

"I-- Sorry," Geoff said, looking askance as he leaned away. "If I overstepped."

Nic saw him shift his weight to move backward; his fingers tightened on Geoff's arm to catch and stop him before his brain had entirely thought through it. "Wait. I, uh."

Geoff's eyebrows went up.

"It's just, ah, a little new to me. With another guy."

"Yeah?" A hint of amusement colored Geoff's expression. "I don't mind. Wanna try again?"

"I think...yeah." Nic let his fingers grip tight around Geoff's arm again, pressure guiding him back in.

Geoff didn't push, content to let Nic set the pace. A minute shiver ran down his spine as Geoff's thumb stroked along his jawline. He had to admit, Geoff was a decent kisser, and it wasn't _that_ different from his previous experience with women -- except for the way Geoff's stubble scraped against his skin, the hardness of the muscles under his hands as he let them settle at Geoff's waist under his jacket. Nic felt his heart thud against his ribs.

When he opened his mouth after a long, slow minute or two, Geoff made a surprised, pleased noise and pressed closer, Nic's fingers digging into his sides. His hand slid back, into Nic's hair, guiding his head to a different angle, and that was different, for all that he'd dated more than a few pushy, dominant women in his day. The feeling of fingernails scraping at the nape of his neck brought a rush of breath from Nic, just shy of a gasp, and Geoff broke off and started kissing along Nic's jaw, wet and open-mouthed, teeth scraping against his skin.

As Geoff leaned into him, Nic let his hands slide around to Geoff's back, grabbing a handful of his shirt with one and letting the other slide under it to flatten against his skin. Geoff's hips jerked forward, pressing Nic against the info board and -- okay. His jeans had to be getting even more uncomfortable than Nic's. The sensation of Geoff's mouth just under his ear, likely sucking what would be an incredibly obvious hickey into the skin, drew a low, embarrassing noise from Nic that he struggled to turn into words.

"--okay. Okay. Hold up." He couldn't catch his breath, his pulse racing.

Geoff grew still and shifted away just enough to look at him, all dark eyes and reddened mouth. "Too much?"

"Not-- uh. No?" Fighting the surprisingly strong urge to pull Geoff back in, Nic patted his arm, then dropped his head back against the info board, laughing a little. "Fuck."

"...Can't say that wasn't where my mind was going." There was a downright sly curl to Geoff's lips. One finger stroked against the back of Nic's neck and his eyes were half-lidded.

"Yeah, I couldn't tell." Nic said, taking an exaggerated glance down at Geoff's pants, his mouth suddenly as dry as his tone. "Let's just-- get away from the creepy tunnel and off the park grounds where anyone could wander by."

"Good idea." Geoff nodded, then paused, looking hopeful. "I've got lots of beer in my fridge."

"Do you ever _not_ have lots of beer in your fridge?" Nic grinned, then bit his lip. Between Geoff and his brush with Tanis -- or just with a panic attack -- in the tunnel, he felt-- off-kilter. Half a step out of phase with the rest of the world. "Okay. I need to stop by the studio, but I'll drop you off at your truck on the other side and we can, uh, maybe meet back up at your place later?"

"Sounds like a plan." As Geoff stepped back from the info board and straightened up, he held out his hand, one eyebrow quirked. "Might get lost on the way out, you never know."

"Wow." Nic laughed, eyeing it for a long beat. When it started to drop, Nic reached out and grabbed it, pulling his weight off the board with the strength of Geoff's grip. "That a line that usually works for you?"

"Worked this time, didn't it?" Geoff grinned, swinging their joined hands as they walked down the trail.

Nic felt his face grow warm. "Guess I can't argue with results."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then when he got halfway home Nic pulled over to hyperventilate a little and text Alex.
> 
> I didn't make up this tunnel, [it actually exists](http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/snoqualmie-tunnel)! Though to my knowledge, visitors do not, in fact, report any particular strangeness associated with it.


	2. (don't bite)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As previously mentioned: halfway home, Nic pulls over to hyperventilate and text Alex.

  
  
  
  
  



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